run for it
by LightningRooks
Summary: five years. splinter had been held captive by the kraang for five years. in that time they'd taken him apart and sewn him back together more times than he could count. the only thing that had kept him sane was the four turtles that the kraang had put in his care, and alligator mutant in the next cell over. but now it's time to escape.


author's note: concerning the names and words in parentheses and italicized- they're supposed to be strikethroughs, but this site doesn't let me do that, so i went with the next best option. these bits are what splinter is thinking subconsciously- i'm sure you'll figure out what i mean soon enough

* * *

"breathe, leatherhead," splinter said through the wall of their cell. he could hear his young friend struggle to get his breathing under control- the alligator mutant was, understandably, prone to fits of rage, especially after a round of experimentation or testing. he heard leatherhead's fists pound on the floor before there was a loud thud, and splinter knew that leatherhead had worn himself out at last.

there was silence for a long time, until finally leatherhead spoke up. "we...we have to get out of here. i can't...i can't do this anymore. every day, the experiments get worse...i want to see earth again. i want to see the sun."

"as do i," splinter replied, sighing. he looked down at the child in his lap. "and we need to get out soon...we can only keep up this ruse for so long."

the kraang allowed splinter to stay with the baby turtles, since all of the other infant mutants that the kraang had created died when tended to by just the kraang. without a warm, physical presence- without _affection-_ the infants had died. and so the kraang assigned splinter, who already had some connection with the turtles, to raise them until the time came when the turtles would no longer depend on him for affection and care.

and in the kraang's eyes, that time was coming up very soon.

something about the six of them- splinter and leatherhead, and the four turtles placed in splinter's care- was special. splinter wasn't quite sure what made them special, only that the kraang were willing to do whatever it took to keep them alive.

that didn't mean they didn't rip apart splinter and leatherhead, leaving them on the brink of death, only to sew them back up again. splinter had had more blood taken out of him than he thought possible, and leatherhead had more scars than the most hardened of warriors.

as he dwelled on these dark thoughts, he brought his hand up to the bandage covering his empty left eye socket. no, whatever made them special certainly didn't mean much- they were alive, but the kraang didn't seem concerned about what condition they were in other than 'functioning.'

"have you heard any more about them?" leatherhead asked, and though the alligator could not see it, splinter shook his head.

"nothing new, only that a fox mutant and a cat mutant escaped together, not too long ago. most of the mutants that were around to witness the event are…" splinter trailed off. leatherhead made a pained noise. very rarely did mutants live past a few months in dimension x- it was a miracle that the six of them, all brought in around the same time, had managed to survive five years here.

"so we're no closer to getting out of here," leatherhead mumbled dejectedly.

"do not lose hope, my friend. we will escape," splinter said, trying to sound confident. he mumbled to himself, "we _have_ to escape."

the blue eyed turtle- the taller one, that is- sat at his side silently. ( _leonardo_ ) the turtle finally asked, "when we get out...you'll give us names, right?"

splinter closed his eye, a pained expression flickering across his face. "of course, little one. when we get out, you will all get names."

he hadn't given them names- of course he had the names he had given them when they were simple pets- because he couldn't afford to get attached. not when the kraang could come in at any time and rip them out of his arms and dissect them. he couldn't lose any more children- he couldn't survive that a second time. so until they were free, he couldn't think of them as his children.

 _(though a part of him already did.)_

"have you already thought of them? because i've thought of some- if you didn't have any in mind," said ( _michelangelo_ ) the smaller blue eyed turtle. he climbed out of splinter's lap where he had been napping, and stood in front of him, excited. he was the one who had named leatherhead- when leatherhead was trying to describe himself to the baby turtles, he said his head was kind of leathery, and the freckled turtle had dubbed him leatherhead.

splinter and leatherhead had later on joked about how he was lucky it was his leathery head that the freckled turtle had latched onto, metaphorically speaking, and not his big hands or scaly tail.

"yes, i have thought of names for you," splinter said, making the freckled turtle frown.

"what if we don't like the names?" said ( _raphael_ ) the hotheaded one. he frequently put up a tough front, but splinter knew it was just a facade to hide how scared he was. he had confided in splinter he was terrified of his brother and himself being tortured the way splinter was.

splinter was terrified of that too. that's why they had to get out soon.

"if you don't like the names i have chosen for you, then you may try out other names for yourselves...if i approve of them," splinter said. he didn't want ( _his sons_ ) the turtles going around calling themselves vulgar names...or ridiculous ones.

the hotheaded one grunted before turning back to watch his brother tinker. ( _donatello_ ) the tinkerer was currently taking apart a kraangdroid head that splinter had swiped one day after testing. it was just a spare part- no one had missed it. and the kraang didn't pay attention enough to notice that one of the pillows was significantly heavier than normal.

splinter stood up, muscles protesting. he stretched, before walking over the back corner of the room where the tinkerer and the hothead sat. the tinkerer didn't talk, ever. or rather, he had not spoken yet- perhaps his- _the_ tinkerer was simply a late bloomer, speech wise.

he crouched down, both boys turning to let him see what the tinkerer was doing. "have you found out anything interesting?" splinter asked the tinkerer.

the tinker gestured at the pile of nuts, bolts, circuitry, and other metal pieces that he'd collected. the head was almost completely deconstructed now, most of its parts sorted into the correct category.

"i keep telling him he should try building something, but he doesn't listen," the hothead said, arms crossed, but he didn't appear angry.

"he will build something if he wants to," splinter said. "for now, you seem content to simply take things apart, isn't that right?"

the tinkerer shrugged noncommittally, and turned back to his work. the tinkerer was the most distant out of the turtles, and he suspected it was because he had figured out that there was a fairly good chance of splinter being dragged away and never coming back. why get attached to someone that could so easily be taken away? splinter could understand his reasoning- it was the same reasoning he used to justify how he refused to name the turtles, but in reverse.

"can you tell us again?" the freckled turtle asked. "about what it's like outside?"

splinter stood up and nodded. he moved back over to the bed where the two blue eyed turtles sat. "what do you want to hear about?" he asked as he sat down. even the hothead and the tinkerer stopped what they were doing and came to sit around splinter. "clean up your area first," splinter said to the tinkerer. he huffed and got up, but cleaned up the mess just the same, filling one of the pillows with mechanical junk.

once the tinkerer had cleaned up his corner, he rejoined the rest of them and sat down next to the hothead. splinter stroked his beard thoughtfully, trying to figure out what else to tell them. the turtles had such a small world- all they had ever known was this tiny cell in dimension x. if they had any memories of their time on earth, as normal turtles, then they gave no indication of it. leatherhead, too, had few memories of before he was mutated. the memories he did have were fuzzy- leatherhead had tried to explain what it felt like to suddenly gain sapience, but he could never find the words to get it across just right.

"well...when we do get out of here, we will most likely be in a place called new york city," he started softly.

"could you speak up?" leatherhead asked through the wall, and splinter could tell he was sitting on just the other side of the wall, listening just as eagerly as any of splinter's- _the_ boys. his world was only a little bit bigger than the turtles- vague memories of a kind boy, the terror of being flushed away...and then dimension x.

"of course, my friend," splinter said, raising his voice enough for the alligator to hear. "as i was saying, the portal most likely leads to new york city. new york city is a very big place, full of people-"

"what are they like?" said the freckled turtle.

"hm?" splinter asked, confused.

"the people- what do they look like? what do they act like?" the freckled turtle asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

splinter held in a sigh- he'd tried to explain humans to the turtles before, but the idea of a species where everyone shared so many traits seemed beyond their grasp. the turtles had only seen splinter, the kraang, and themselves- and once, briefly, leatherhead- so they had no idea that _they_ were the strange ones. they had no idea that humans had some degree of homogeneity- the closest thing splinter could think of as a point of reference was how the kraang were identical, but he never voiced this, for fear of making the turtles and leatherhead think humans and the kraang were alike in more ways than just the one.

however...humanity would never accept them. he suspected leatherhead knew, but...he had never told the turtles. he wanted to make the human world out to be a happy and pure place- like a magical world, free of strife. he wanted...he wanted to give them hope, that if they did get out, they would be in a better world.

"well, they're all humans," splinter finally answered. "and some of them are cruel, and some of them are kind- there are all different kinds of people."

"are all people humans?" the freckled turtle asked. "are we people?"

"well...all humans are people," splinter said, used to these strangely philosophical questions by now. "and though we are not humans, we are also people."

"so what makes people people?" the taller blue eyed turtle asked.

splinter sighed, rubbing his temples. "well…" he started, trying to figure out how to explain personhood.

* * *

"splinter?" he heard leatherhead say softly. ( _raphael and michelangelo_ ) the hothead and the freckled turtle both had crawled into splinter's bunk, leaving splinter pressed up against the metal wall uncomfortably. it was fine, though. he knew they had nightmares.

"what is it, my friend?" splinter said, voice just loud enough for leatherhead to hear.

"i think...the next chance we get- when one of us is going for testing- we need to just go," leatherhead said, and splinter could hear the anxiety in his voice. "just- they only bring four droid now- now that we don't…"

"now that we have learned to bide our time," splinter finished. he refused to believe that he had given up- to stop fighting and to give up were two completely different things. there were times when the kraang were torturing him, when it would be so much easier to just slip into oblivion- to just lay down and die, but the thought of the four baby turtles who had never known a world beyond their cell, and the alligator who had become his friend...the thought of them made him hold on.

he wanted to escape- to show them earth, and all the beauty it held. he wanted to be able to call the four little turtles his sons, to give them the names he could barely stop himself from calling them- most of all, he wanted the six of them to be safe.

so when he stopped fighting the kraang every time they came for him- that wasn't giving up. that was simply biding his time.

"now that we've learned to bide our time," leatherhead repeated. "they don't bring a lot of kraangdroids. i think we could do it."

splinter closed his eye. could they? could they really escape after all these years?

"i believe...we have to try," splinter said finally. "they...they are going to take the boys away soon and i can not…"

"i know," leatherhead said. "we're going to get out of here. first chance we get."

"we still need to know where the portal is," splinter said. "that's what's been holding us back."

leatherhead sighed. "i know. i wish we could talk to other mutants- they've probably been around it."

splinter made a noise of agreement. whatever was special about the six of them, it kept them isolated from the other mutants that they could sometimes hear screaming in the distance. those nights, neither of them slept much.

splinter sighed. "tomorrow….tomorrow is just a routine blood draw," splinter said, making it sound much milder than it was- in the kraang laboratories, it was as mild as it got. tomorrow, the kraang would drain away one liter of blood from him, leaving him near shock. "i can break away- try to find the portal. once i find it, i will stop and let them catch me. when i return, and they open your cell...we will run for it."

"but...they'll taze you! and they'll drain you after- will you be in any condition to escape?" leatherhead asked, alarmed.

splinter considered it. he could feign weakness- collapse after just one taze, and let the kraang drag him back to their laboratory. they might even not take as much blood, if he seemed weak. could he escape after being tasered, then having blood taken out of him?

"i will be alright," splinter said, already steeling himself for tomorrow. "we will have to carry the turtles though- or find some sort of cart to carry them in."

"like the floating ones the kraang use?"

"exactly," splinter said, nodding. "and...if something happens to me-"

"don't say that," leatherhead said gruffly. "we're going to get out of here together."

" _if something happens to me_ ," splinter repeated. "i need to know that you'll take care of the boys. and...give them their names."

"...you have my word," leatherhead said after a long silence. "what _are_ their names?"

"the smallest- the one with freckles- his name is michelangelo. the taller of the blue eyed turtles is leonardo. the green eyed one with the temper- his name is raphael, and the tallest of them- the silent one- he is donatello," splinter said, and leatherhead noted how splinter's voice softened.

"michelangelo, leonardo, raphael, and donatello," leatherhead repeated. "...i'll remember."

"thank you, my friend," splinter said. "now try to get some rest. we have a big day tomorrow."

* * *

sure enough, the kraang dragged splinter out of his cell early the next morning. he caught a glimpse at the turtles face as he was pulled away from them, and that cemented his decision. they were getting out of here, today. they didn't restrain him- his last attempt to resist had been over a year ago, so they seemed to think he had finally resigned himself to this fate. how wrong they were.

the four kraangdroids that "escorted" him to the lab walked in silence, leading him down a familiar path. however, when they reached in a fork in the road, splinter bolted, taking the other path. he'd been to almost every part of the facility in his time here, but they had never once taken him down this path. he prayed that it was because the portal was down this way.

he ran down unfamiliar hallway after unfamiliar hallway, trying to find the heart of the facility, where he and leatherhead assumed the portal would be. left, right, left, left. he repeated the sequence over and over in his mind- he had to remember the path for when he had the rest of his- of them with him.

the sirens blared, but they were silent in comparison to the sound of his heart beating- for once, he was glad for the constant physical testing and trials the kraang had put him through. though he had hated running on all fours - or doing anything rat like, really- the kraang had given him no choice, and now he was using what they had forced him to adapt to against them. he took grim satisfaction in the irony of it.

as he turned another corner- right, right, straight, left- he ran into another quartet of kraangdroids, and when he turned around, he found himself cornered. fear coursed through him- he remembered all too well the pain of the kraang's strange, pink tasers. he bared his teeth at the droids that closed in on him before screaming in agony as one of the kraang behind him rammed the taser into his back.

it was only partially an act- the pain was intense- but he knew he could take more hits if the situation absolutely called for it. right now, though, it didn't, so splinter collapsed on the cold, metallic floor, pink lightning dancing across his fur.

"the rat mutant known as splinter has not attempted to resist kraang in over a year," he heard one kraang say.

"perhaps the rat mutant known as splinter has begun to 'go feral'," another suggested as they grabbed his arms and began dragging him back to the lab.

splinter felt his blood go cold, and he struggled to keep a passive expression on his face. go feral? could he- what did that even mean? he'd heard of other mutants- the ones whose mutations were too grotesque, too...too much for the person, and they'd gone insane- they began acting like the animal they had melded with.

could that happen to him too? no...no, he'd been a mutant for five years now- if he was going to "go feral"...surely he would have by now.

it was a long way back to the lab, and by the time they got there, splinter had mostly recovered from the taser- now he was just exhausted. the blood drain would do little to help this, usually leaving him near shock. he hoped, probably naively, that the kraang would take it easy on him today. they had taken it easy on him in his early days, when he was at his lowest point- when he tried to starve himself to death, and didn't care about his turtles enough to stay alive yet. then they threw leatherhead in the cell next to him.

when the kraang had at last brought him to the lab, he could hear one kraang say to another of them- one who worked in the lab, "the rat mutant known as splinter resisted kraang, and made it close to the place which holds the portal."

relief crashed over splinter like a tidal wave. he _had_ been close to the portal! for the first time in five years, splinter felt hope bloom in his chest. they were going to get out of here. this new hope did more to help splinter recover than any curative could.

he just had to get through this. he just had to get through this, and then he and leatherhead and the turtles could escape.

"the rat mutant known as splinter seems weaker to kraang. he went down after a single taser attack from kraang," the kraang continued. "perhaps kraang should 'take it easy' on the rat mutant known as splinter."

"perhaps kraang will," said the kraang scientist, and if splinter didn't know any better, he'd say the droid was being downright passive aggressive.

however, he mused fifteen minutes later, the kraang did take it easy on him, only taking half of what they usually took. they wrapped a bandage around his arm, and a group of eight kraangdroids escorted him back- they didn't want to risk him breaking away again.

when they turned down a familiar hallway, splinter saw leatherhead being removed from his cell. leatherhead was tense and practically radiating anger and rage- he'd gotten so much better about controlling himself, and he no longer fell into a blind rage when the name kraang was uttered. but this wasn't the time for control.

when the kraang opened splinter's cell, revealing the four turtles inside, splinter caught leatherhead's eyes, and nodded. that was all the sign leatherhead needed- he roared, and grabbed the nearest kraangdroid by the head and smashing it into the three other robots. splinter had only seen leatherhead lash out like in this in person once- when he was first introduced to the alligator mutant, in fact. but instead of blindly struggling like before, now leatherhead moved with purpose- now they had a goal. now they had a plan, however half cooked as it may be.

the kraang surrounding splinter forgot him, running to incapacitate leatherhead over making sure the other mutant was back inside his open cell, which proved to be a fatal mistake. once they had run in front of him, splinter moved, quick as lightning, grabbing the arm of one kraangdroid and crashing the robot into the wall- the metal arm actually popped out, and landed inside the cell, at the tinkerer's feet.

the kraang's strength was almost purely in numbers- splinter and leatherhead made short work of the twelve kraang that were in the hallway. each of the disgusting, brain like aliens were thrown into leatherhead's cell, before the alligator shut the door. they would have about two minutes before anyone noticed what had gone on.

"are...are we leaving now?" the freckled turtle asked, afraid. splinter nodded.

"yes- we must hurry though, if we are going to make it. don- what are you doing over there?" splinter said, nearly slipping up as the tinkerer turned around.

he held out the kraangdroid arm- he'd done something to the joint, so now the arm was little more than a metal rod, and could be used as a club. it was ingenious, actually. splinter took the arm and nodded.

"good work," he said, before leatherhead butted his head in the door.

"let's go," he said impatiently, and the turtles jumped, having never seen something so massive before. splinter nodded again.

"right," he said, picking up the closest turtle- which was the tinkerer. he looked down at the arm in his hand, and realized he couldn't carry two of them and wield the arm at the same time. leatherhead seemed to have come to the same realization, and, in one fell swoop, scooped up the remaining three turtles in his massive arms. he put the freckled turtle and the hothead on his back, and carried the tall blue eyed turtle in his arm.

"there we go. hold on, you two," leatherhead said, before turning to splinter and nodding. splinter nodded back, and the two of them ran out of the cell, and into the sterile, white hallways.

"this way!" splinter said, leading them down the maze of hallways, which were free of kraang for the moment- along the way, they spotted one of the floating carts that the kraang used. splinter pointed with the arm at it, and leatherhead nodded. he tipped the cart on it's side, dumping out kraangdroid parts in the hallway before gently placing the three turtles in the cart and grabbing the thin handle- it looked almost comical in his large hands.

splinter placed ( _donatello_ ) the tinkerer next to his brothers, then led leatherhead down the next few hallways, before they finally ran into more kraang. splinter sprinted forward, striking the kraang with the club- or he would have, if he had been close enough. once again cursing his lost eye, splinter ducked down as the kraang fired at him, before springing up and biting the droid's head right off.

his tail lashed out, knocking two kraangdroids against the wall, and causing the squishy aliens to pop out of their chests. he turned back to see leatherhead protecting the cart- biting kraangdroids in half, smashing them to pieces...splinter was grateful to have leatherhead on his side.

"follow me!" splinter said, sprinting down the hallway. leatherhead nodded, before the alarms started blaring. splinter didn't stop to look back- he could hear leatherhead's heavy footsteps behind him. suddenly he stopped, confusing leatherhead.

"why are you stopping?!" he demanded.

"this was as far as i got- they said i was close, but i'm not sure where to go from here," splinter explained, swinging his head around to look at the three other hallways. the tinkerer, who had kept his eyes on the pink, glowing energy lines on the ceiling the entire time, tapped the side of the cart to get splinter's attention.

he pointed first at the ceiling, where the energy lines converged at the intersection, and then pointed in the direction that the energy lines seemed to be originating from. splinter raised an eyebrow.

"you want us to go that way?" he asked, to which the tinkerer nodded. leatherhead pushed past him, following the tinkerer's direction.

"it's better than staying here!" leatherhead said, and splinter had to agree.

 _(donatello's)_ \- the tinkerer's directions led them to a door at the end of a long hallway- it was locked, and they had no way of unlocking it. splinter began to panic as he pressed helplessly at the pink screen next to it- he couldn't understand the symbols, and he could hear kraang reinforcements get closer and closer.

"move!" leatherhead shouted, backing away from the cart. splinter did, sensing what leatherhead was about to do.

leatherhead charged at the door, and the sheer force of the gigantic mutant slamming himself against the metal was enough to break the door- sending it flying into the next room. when they entered the room- splinter steering the cart now- they saw the massive, pink, triangular portal in the center of the room.

whatever relief splinter felt at the sight of the portal was immediately destroyed by a kraangdroid's command of, "close the portal!"

a barrage of laser shots were fired at them, and before splinter even knew what was happening, he was lifted in the air by a huge hand and tossed over leatherhead's shoulder. splinter spluttered, the world spinning around him- he saw leatherhead nearly throw the cart containing the turtles through the portal as he charged at it, dodging blasts as he went.

"leatherhead!" splinter yelled. "what are you doing?"

"trust me!" was all the alligator said before throwing splinter himself through the shrinking portal, and back out into...into a warehouse, where countless kraangdroids- some using the same disguise as the one he had seen on that fateful day-stared at him and the cart in confusion. they quickly recovered, however, and splinter sprang into the air to avoid the blaster shots. he looked back at the portal, which was closing fast, and felt his stomach drop- where was leatherhead?!

splinter didn't have to wait long for his answer- with a powerful roar, leatherhead burst out of the portal, barely fitting through. he took in the room, before throwing himself at the kraang in the room.

"leatherhead!" splinter said, fearing that his friend had fallen into another of his rages. " _ **leatherhead**_!"

leatherhead turned to splinter with a rage in his eyes that frightened the rat mutant, but splinter stood his ground nonetheless.

"leatherhead, we need to get out of here!" he hissed, and at last the rage faded from his eyes- and the milky white film that had been covering them was retracted as well. he nodded, then looked at the wall, before charging at it.

"leatherhead, be careful!" splinter said, dodging blaster fire as he drove the cart after the alligator. "you can't use brute force to get through every situat-"

splinter was cut off by the sound of leatherhead breaking through the wall of the warehouse and sighed, following his friend out into the sunlight- the air was fresh and warm- and if the kraang weren't still following him, splinter could have stood there for hours, basking in the light.

"can the cart float?" leatherhead asked as they continued running- they were by water, he noted. he could smell it. splinter jumped up on the low roof of one of the warehouses, leaving the cart with leatherhead- they were on a small island- trapped. they couldn't cross a bridge in broad daylight, and they couldn't stay here.

"i...i don't know," splinter said.

"he says it can," ( _raphael)_ \- the hothead said, pointing at the tinkerer. the tinkerer nodded.

"even if it can't- turtles can swim long distances, can't they?" leatherhead said as they made their way to the water.

"well, i suppose so- but they've never swam before and- leatherhead, what about me?" splinter asked, leaping from roof to roof.

"i'll carry you!" leatherhead replied when they reached the water. splinter's eyebrows rose at this, alarmed.

"you'll carry me?" he repeated.

"yes- i can swim across the river, and i'll carry you on my back," leatherhead said, gently putting the cart in the water- which did, in fact, float. leatherhead hopped in the water next, waiting for splinter to hop on his broad shoulders.

splinter did, seeing that he had little other choice. he grabbed onto the alligator's back as leatherhead pushed the cart forward in the water, and they set off. when the six of them were far from the shore, splinter could see the kraang gather on the banks of the island, and kept his eyes on them anxiously until they were too far away to for him to be able to make out.

"i never thought any place could be so big," michelangelo said, staring at the sunset. "there's so much space!"

splinter nodded, taking in the view of new york city. when he first arrived here, everything seemed dull and grey- the whole world had lost its color when he lost his family. but now- now everything was shiny and new. the sun was radiant, and the sky was full of color. the skyscrapers were still grey in the distance, but everything just seemed...alive.

"can we have our names now?" leonardo asked.

"of course. i made you a promise, did i not...leonardo?" splinter said, and leonardo's eyes widened.

"leonardo," he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

"what about the rest of us!" raphael demanded.

"you," splinter said, reaching to poke where raphael's nose would have been, "are raphael. you are michelangelo, and you are donatello." as he spoke, he pointed to each of them.

they were all silent for a few moments, before michelangelo spoke up.

"they're too long," he said. "i'm never gonna remember my name."

leatherhead tilted his head up, trying to make eye contact with splinter. he chuckled in the water, and splinter started laughing as well. it was the first time in a long time splinter had truly laughed- and it was probably the first time in leatherhead's life he had felt at ease enough to.

"well, we will have to think of nicknames then. how about michel?" splinter said. michelangelo's nose scrunched up. "apparently not. how about...mike?" he offered, while thinking that the name didn't suit the energetic turtle at all.

"what about mikey?" leatherhead said, rising above the water just enough to speak.

"i like that!" mikey said, grinning.

* * *

by the time they reached the other shore, night had fallen. they landed at the docks, and as they rushed from hiding place to hiding place something caught splinter's eye. it was a newspaper- while newspapers littered in new york city were fairly common, this one appeared to be largely intact. if he had to guess, he'd say this was today's newspaper. he checked the date in the corner, and felt his heart stop.

sunday, october fifth, nineteen ninety seven

there was no way. there was no way! it'd been a week?! he'd spent five years in dimension x, but here only a week had gone by?

"splinter?" he heard leatherhead say. "what's wrong?"

"it...it's been one week here, leatherhead. one week since i was mutated here," splinter whispered. still holding the newspaper, he looked up, realizing that if it had only been a week then…

"follow me!" he said, sprinting in the direction of his apartment.

a good two hours later, splinter, leatherhead, and his turtles arrived at splinter's apartment. they stood in the alleyway, leatherhead and splinter breathing heavily.

"did...we have to run...the entire way here?" leatherhead said. splinter nodded.

"stay...here," he said. "i...there are things in there i need...if they're still there."

leatherhead studied him for a moment, then nodded. splinter jumped up to the bottom of the fire escape and pulled himself up. for a moment, the world spun, and splinter figured he should probably eat something soon. it had been four hours since he'd had his blood drawn, and he hadn't eaten anything in that time. then he realized- he was on earth! he could eat real food instead of the disgusting mush that the kraang fed him!

the lock on the window into splinter's apartment never worked, so splinter simply opened it and slipped inside. everything was just the way he had left it five years ago- not a thing had been moved. he was almost afraid to move- as if he would break the spells, and all of his belongings would be gone.

it wasn't like there was much he truly wanted anymore-but there were a few things that he could not leave behind. he moved into his bedroom, and saw the familiar picture on his nightstand. he felt his throat tightened as he reached out and picked up the picture of his lost family with trembling hands.

tears started streaming down splinter's face. he was ashamed to admit how much his memory of tang shen's face had faded over the last five years in captivity. how he struggled to remember miwa's little giggle. so much had changed- he had changed. and now he felt so disconnected from this place- a room frozen in time, while he had begun to move on, if only to survive.

after he had calmed down, he grabbed his suitcase and placed the picture inside, along with the tessen he had planned to give miwa, and another photo- a much more casual photo of him and tang shen. other things were placed inside- blankets, weapons, his favorite book on renaissance art.

he hesitated when he reached his closet. none of his old clothes would fit him...would they? splinter had been naked for the last five years- well, as naked as one could be, covered in fur- and being able to wear to clothes again would be wonderful.

he sorted through his clothes- the only thing that might fit him was his yukata. tentatively, he tried it on- _it fit_! he smiled, relieved to finally be wearing clothes again. he looked around his apartment for the last time, and left it, feeling out of place in it.

"leatherhead!" he whispered, searching for his friend.

"i'm here," he said, stepping out of the shadows. "did you find what you were looking for?"

"i did," splinter said, a small smile on his face. "may i throw something down to you?"

"of course," leatherhead said, stepping closer to the fire escape. splinter tossed his suitcase over the side of the fire escape, which leatherhead caught easily. splinter climbed down the fire escape, and rejoined leatherhead and the turtles.

"where do we go now?" leatherhead asked. splinter was wondering the same thing himself. he stood there, deep in thought, until they heard footsteps. splinter pushed them into the shadows as a woman walked by, engrossed in a conversation on her cell phone.

"yeah, i'm not taking the subway all the way there again," she said as she walked on by.

splinter's ears perked up at the word subway. "i have an idea," he said.

* * *

"well, it's certainly big enough," leatherhead said, looking at the abandoned subway cars and cavern like tunnel.

"it will do," splinter said. "we'll have to figure something out for plumbing, and electricity, and then-"

"we can do all of that in morning. i don't know about the rest of you, but after today...i'm exhausted," leatherhead said, only to find the turtles sleeping in the cart. "well, i guess that answers that question."

"you are right, leatherhead. for now, we should rest," splinter said, carefully picking up the turtles out of the cart and wrapping them in blankets. splinter found that he, too, was exhausted, and didn't mind the idea of going to sleep at all.

they slept together in a huddle that night, safe and free.

* * *

so in case you didn't realize it, they don't end up in their lair- they end up in leatherhead's! splinter's still very stressed, but he's just so happy to be free that all of that is put on hold for now.

moving forward, leatherhead and splinter (albeit splinter is VERY reluctant) start gathering intel and fighting the kraang- hey, aliens are going to invade and they're the ONLY ones that know about it. splinter leaves it up to the turtles whether they want to fight the kraang when they start going above ground too.

leatherhead acts as a big brother to the turtles growing up too! they stay a family.


End file.
